"Global and local inequalities in access to both healthcare and digital services adds to this complexity. Everyone has a right both to the highest attainable standard of healthcare, and to privacy. But people's needs in relation to them can differ. What states must do to provide for those rights, so that they can both be achieved without unfair or unacceptable trade-off, needs careful consideration."
"Rolling out digital healthcare services may seem like a cost-efficient way to improve access to healthcare, but it can negatively affect people's privacy, in particular when the private sector is relied on for delivery. This article explores how taking a human rights-based approach to healthcare can help understand the challenges of improving healthcare while safeguarding privacy, and what steps can be taken towards an approach that meets everyone's needs."
Privacy is essential to healthcare, encompassing obvious patient-doctor confidentiality and deeper questions about who accesses healthcare resources and data, why, and at what cost. Global and local inequalities in healthcare and digital access complicate rights to health and privacy, since needs and abilities to exercise them differ. States have obligations to ensure both rights without unfair trade-offs. Digital healthcare can expand access cost-efficiently but can undermine privacy, especially when private companies deliver services. A human-rights-based approach can guide balancing improved healthcare access with robust privacy safeguards and equitable protections.
Read at Privacy International
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